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Geist Half Marathon steps up race

Betsy Reason, betsy.reason@indystar.com
10:34 p.m. EDT March 9, 2014

Geist Half Marathon organizer Matt Troyer stands on the Olio Road bridge that spans Geist Reservoir, Thursday, February 6, 2014, in Fortville. The start/finish line is in the middle of the bridge for both the half marathon and 5k.(Photo: Brent Drinkut/The Star)

The winter cold may linger, but that doesn't stop training and plans for the Geist Half Marathon & 5K in May.

Organizers are stepping up the race this year — scheduled for May 17 — with a new half-marathon route, plus entertainment and post-race party.

"We're freshening it up to give people something to look forward to and to give people something they haven't seen before," said Geist resident and athlete Matt Troyer, 43, co-founder and president of the race. It is in its seventh year and raises money for health and wellness initiatives in the Geist area.

Registration is open for the races that, for the first time, both start at 7 a.m. on the Olio Road bridge overlooking Geist Reservoir in Fishers. "By starting both races at once, we expect that the start-line crowd will have a lot of excitement," Troyer said.

The median on the Olio Road bridge will divide the racers. "We think it will be pretty neat to have the more than 6,000 participants starting all the way across the four-lane Olio Road," he said.

Route changes

Although participants in both races begin at the same point, 5K runners will split from Olio Road and go east at 104th Street, cutting through the Weatherstone and Canal Place neighborhoods. Half-marathon runners will go west through the Cambridge neighborhood. While the first 3½ miles of the half-marathon are the same as past years, the route changes as runners break off westbound Fall Creek Road and travel north on Brooks School Road, through Hamilton Proper neighborhood, around The Hawthorns Golf & Country Club, and through Masthead at Geist and Windermere neighborhoods. Runners return on Fall Creek Road, traveling back through Cambridge.

"The changes will make the race flow better," said Lawrence Township resident Hillary Church, who runs the half-marathon each year with a group of 100 women. "We love the local and family feel and the fact that it isn't overwhelmingly big."

The race will finish at Geist Pavilion shopping center. The post-race party will be bigger than ever, Troyer said, anticipating more spectators because of the improved logistics, live music and festivities at the shopping center.

"The route change was one of my big initiatives for the year," Troyer said. The finish line of the previous course, at Geist Marina, didn't have enough parking and required using 40 school buses to transport participants to parking lots of four Hamilton Southeastern schools. "It was a less-than-ideal situation."

Changes in the race courses reduced busing and parking issues. Plus, the new course eliminated two hills in the Feather Cove and Admirals neighborhoods that participants routinely deemed too hilly and too challenging. The new course features more gently rolling hills and more flat streets.

"It also incorporates as many lake views as possible," said Troyer, who has run the new course four times.

Race with a purpose

Since 2008, the Geist Half Marathon & 5K has raised more than $360,000 for Hamilton Southeastern Schools Foundation and Lawrence Township SchoolFoundation, for health and wellness initiatives. Mt. Vernon Community Schools in Fortville and St. Simon the Apostle School in Oaklandon also have benefited.

"It's been awesome to have them as a partner. It's allowed us to do things we could never have done before," said Lisa Allen, executive director of the HSE foundation, which has received more than $100,000 from the race.

Lawrence Township has received more than $130,000 for health education programs, including Kids Up & Running, an after-school training program that prepares elementary students for 5K runs, such as the Geist event, said Heather Anderson, a spokeswoman for the foundation. "This partnership has been amazing," she said. "It truly is a win-win situation.

2. Fourth annual Carmel Marathon: 7:30 a.m. April 22, starts and finishes in Carmel's Arts & Design District. $65 through March 31; $70 April 1-10; $75 April 11 and after. Benefits Ronald McDonald House of Indiana. Also features half-marathon relay and 8K. www.carmelmarathon.com.

3. OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini-Marathon: 7:30 a.m. May 3, starts on the eastern side of the White River, goes to Indianapolis Motor Speedway and finishes at Military Park. $75. Benefits 500 Festival events. Also features a 5K. www.500festival.com/mini-marathon.